JC: Ed Biggers Part 6: Doyen Chapter 19 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004 After Claire had dropped them off at the entrance, Kelly, Ling, and Ed walked into the Maria's Cantina located in Phoenix. They did not expect to find Maria there since she had retired from the day to day operation of the restaurants. She continued to manage what had become a growing chain, but had left inspections and quality control to her sister Rosa. The reason they were at the restaurant was a mystery to everyone. Ed had a feeling that something important was going to happen and asked Claire to turn into the restaurant at the last minute. It was almost as if William had shouted, "Go there now!" As the door clanged to a close behind her, Ling asked, "What are we doing here?" "I don't know," Ed answered as he looked over the restaurant with narrowed eyes. Two coarse looking Hispanic men in their early twenties were crowded together in front of the register. The woman at the register looked frightened, but he couldn't see why until one of the men turned such that a gun was visible. Shaking his head, he said, "Robbery." Ling spun around to see what he meant and saw the activity at the cash register. She was ready to move when one of the holdup men saw them and shouted, "Oh shit!" The other holdup man looked over at Ed and Kelly standing at the door in their robes. He frowned for a second without saying a word and studied the Druids at the door with dead eyes. He raised his gun and aimed directly at Ed. Ed had no doubts the young man was going to fire and, from five feet away, there wasn't any chance he would miss. Before the holdup man had a chance to pull the trigger, he was thrown against the counter before falling to the ground. A young man had plowed into him with a football tackle and taken him out. The young man followed the gunman to the floor pounding on him with his fist. Quick to protect the family, Ling leapt into the fight. She took out the second gunman with a single blow to the neck before he could shoot their rescuer or Ed. Never one to use a subtle approach, she made sure the man wouldn't ever be able to fire his pistol. A pair of pistols lay on the floor where the gunmen had dropped them. She kicked the loose pistols away from the area of the action. Even as Ling was taking care of the second gunman, Ed moved to protect the woman behind the counter. Despite the fact she was on the verge of hysteria, it didn't take long for him to get her well away from the register area. Once in the kitchen, Ed shouted to get through her emotional state. "It's okay. You're safe now." The typical noise of a restaurant kitchen died as the cooks and dishwasher noticed what was going on. Curious cooks crowded around the pair hoping to discover why the cashier was in the kitchen crying her eyes out. Outside of whispered comments to each other, all other noise disappeared. The cashier clung to Ed for dear life, sobbing emotionally. Her entire life had passed before her eyes and, considering what little of it there had been, she was underwhelmed. Putting his arms around her, he hugged and comforted her as best he could without knowing what was actually going through her mind. Shaking his head, Ed thought to himself that it had been a long time since he had rescued a damsel. He knew the wives would give him lots of grief over this. "It's about time you rescued another woman. I was beginning to get worried about you," Kelly said from behind Ed in a voice that was highly amused. She had a hard time suppressing a laugh at the look he gave her. Without releasing the woman, Ed said, "I knew you were going to say something about this." "Claire is out there having a fit about this little episode," Kelly said looking over her shoulder and through the window of the service door. She could see Claire gesturing angrily at Ling. The woman finally collected herself and pulled away from Ed. Smiling down at her, he pulled his ever-present handkerchief from his pocket and presented it to her. She accepted it and dabbed her eyes to remove her tears. In a calm comforting voice, Ed asked, "Are you feeling better now?" "Yes, I am," she replied before blowing her nose into the hanky. She blushed at the noise she made. Looking around for some place for her to sit, Ed noticed the manager's office. Opening the door, he said, "Why don't you wait in here until you've collected yourself?" Unaware that anything had happened in the store, the manager rose out of her chair curious as to why her cashier was being led into the office by a stranger. She asked, "What's going on here?" The woman, having someone she knew at hand, rushed over to the manager and hugged her. Upset once again, she cried out, "We were almost robbed and he stopped it." Looking past the woman, the manager saw enough of Ed to make out his attire. Her eyes got big upon catching sight of the black robe. Swallowing heavily, she asked, "Ed Biggers?" "Yes." "I'll call Maria and let her know what has happened. I'm sure that she'll want to talk to you," the manager said. Everyone who worked for Maria or Rosa knew about the black robed Druid who was a friend of the pair. It was half a second later when she noticed Kelly standing behind Ed wearing her Green robe. As the manager took care of the cashier, Ed turned to face Kelly. Curious, he asked, "Who was the hero?" "I don't know," answered Kelly knowing that Ed was referring to the man who had taken out the gunman. She said, "He didn't stop pounding on the guy until Ling asked him if she could have a turn. I think she was rather impressed." "What impressed her? The fact that he kept hammering on him long after it was necessary or that he stopped to give her a turn?" Ed asked wryly. "Hard to say," Kelly said with a chuckle. Ed took Kelly by the hand and said, "Let's go see what's happening out front." The couple went through the service door. Where the kitchen had been quiet, the area around the cash register was absolute chaos. The authorities were already there in full force since the restaurant was only two minutes from a hospital and one minute from a police station. A very irritated Ling was arguing with a policeman. Claire was arguing with a different policeman about his failure to follow proper crime scene procedures. Two men were loading the gunman who had tried to kill Ed onto a gurney. The other gunman had been covered and Ed shook his head at the unnecessary death. The young man who had tackled the gunman was standing to the side with his hands behind his back. It was clear that he was handcuffed. After looking around at the chaos for several seconds, Ed shouted, "Everyone quiet!" The two cops spun to see who had made the noise. Seeing two Druids, they immediately froze and reconsidered their reactions to outside interference. It was well known in law enforcement circles that when a Druid wanted to take over a crime scene it was best to stand out of their way. Pointing at one of the policemen, Ed said, "You, remove the handcuffs from that man and take his statement. You, come over here and take my statement." The two policemen moved to follow his commands. The senior policeman showed up and opened his notepad as he said, "Sorry, I didn't realize that Druids were involved." Ignoring the reference to Druids being involved, Ed said, "My name is Ed Biggers -- spelled like it sounds." He paused as the cop busily scribbled his name down in the notepad. Once he was sure the cop had his name correct, Ed, pointing to the man on the gurney, continued, "He was about to shoot me when that man over there tackled him. I have no idea who he is, but he definitely saved my life." "His name is Chuck Chambers," the cop mumbled as he wrote furiously. The last thing he wanted to do was to screw up in front of a Druid. Making note of the name, Ed said, "The man under the sheet moved to shoot that young man and my wife took him out. I'm afraid that she took the expedient approach and made it permanent. It is a clear case of self-defense. He was armed with a pistol and my wife was unarmed." "Does she have martial arts training?" asked the cop. He had seen the results of her blow to the neck and knew what it implied. "Yes. She's nationally ranked," answered Ed. "So she wasn't exactly unarmed?" "You know that deadly force is allowed against a man using a gun during the execution of a crime," countered Ed. "True," replied the cop after a moment of thought. It wasn't quite true if the person facing a criminal was a policeman. It was strict department policy that they were to shoot to stop rather than shoot to kill even if the criminal was shooting at him. He asked, "What's the black woman got to do with this?" "She's one of our security people and a former Phoenix police officer," answered Ed. The cop looked over at Ed for a moment as the coins finally dropped and he realized with whom he was dealing. Looking down at his notes, he said, "I should talk to the cashier and get her version of the events." "She's in the manager's office. It's through the service door over there," Ed said while pointing towards the door. "Thank you. If I have anymore questions I'll get in touch with your people," said the cop backing away. The sooner he could get these people out of here, the happier he would be. Smiling, Ed watched the cop head into the kitchen. The young man who had tackled the gunman came up and said, "Hey, I didn't see you there when I went after that guy. If I had known a Druid was around, I'd have let you handle it. I hope you're not disappointed that I charged in and stole your action. You'd have probably handled it a whole lot better than I did. I'm really sorry." Stunned, Ed stared at the guy incredulous at what he was saying. Shaking his head, Ed said, "Chuck…" "Wow, you Druids are really amazing. You even know my name," exclaimed the young man. For years he had heard about how Druids were heroes who rescued people in nearly impossible circumstances. In his mind, he had built them up into superheroes and wouldn't have been surprised to see one leap a tall building in a single bound. Not realizing that Ling was with Ed, he turned to her and asked, "Can you believe this guy was actually able to guess my name?" Barely able to keep from laughing, Ling answered, "The officer told him your name." "Oh," replied Chuck feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm very glad you took care of the situation. He was about to shoot me and there was nothing I could have done about it. I'd have been dead if not for you," Ed said. "Oh," replied Chuck thoughtfully. He frowned when it dawned on him that Ed wasn't a superhero. He studied Ed and Kelly with an eye that was a little more realistic in its appraisal. In a quieter voice, he said, "Then I'm glad that I acted the way that I did." Ed examined Chuck carefully. He appeared to be in his late twenties, although he was already showing signs of male pattern baldness. He stood nearly six feet tall and weighed 180 pounds. The tackle he had used to take out the gunman suggested the man had played high school football. The fact that he hadn't gone to flab further suggested he still worked out to keep trim. Claire came up and said, "I've got us a table over there in the corner where we can wait until the keystone cops get done." "What's the matter?" "Just a little irritated those two immediately assumed Ling and Chuck had done something wrong," answered Claire with a hint of disgust in her voice. She shot a dirty look in the direction of one of the policemen. She was probably much better trained than either officer, but they had her writing parking tickets and that still grated on her nerves. "Come with us, Chuck. I'd like a chance to talk with you a little more," said Ed letting the topic of Claire's frustration drop. He knew it was a residual consequence of her treatment while she was with the Phoenix Police Department. Ed went back to the table Claire had indicated earlier. Chuck followed, but stopped at another table and picked up a glass of watery soda from it. Ed sat down and looked around the restaurant. Most of the guests had cleared out as a result of the excitement. Chuck sat down and said, "I don't know what to call you." "Oh, sorry. I'm Ed Biggers. The oriental dynamo over there is Ling, one of my wives. The lady in the green robe is Kelly, another one of my wives. The black woman is Claire. She's one of our security people." Chuck wondered what kind of mission Ed was on that required a security detail. Rather than ask the question, he asked, "Is Ling the person who took out the other robber?" "Yes, she did. He was about to shoot you," answered Ed. "I had figured another one of the customers would take care of him. Just about everyone in here was a man," said Chuck shaking his head. Disturbed that none of the other men in the restaurant had acted, he added, "A lady shouldn't have to get involved in a brawl like that." "Ling has trained her whole life to be able to act in those kinds of situations." Ed wasn't going to mention that Ling had a tendency to use more force than necessary. It bothered him a lot and he was going to talk with her about it later. Looking around the restaurant, Chuck said, "Well, consider me old fashioned, but I think men should step up to these kinds of things and protect women. I'm not a chauvinist, you understand. It's just a fact that most men are physically stronger than women are." Hardly surprised at the way Chuck had phrased it, Ed asked, "So you think the strong should protect the weak?" "Well, the weak should always be protected. You don't have a civilized society otherwise," answered Chuck with a negligent shrug of his shoulders. He felt that he had just uttered a universal truth and didn't need to justify it any more than stating it. "What do you do for a living?" asked Ed as Kelly and Ling joined them at the table. Chuck sat up straighter and answered, "I own a little networking company. We've been doing Metropolitan Area Networks for a lot of the towns in this state and now we're connecting the towns. We just got the contract to expand and maintain the state highway network. In fact, I was here to celebrate the signing of the contract before heading back to the office to announce the fact to my employees." Ling and Kelly exchanged glances, impressed by the accomplishments of someone who was so young. Ed knew that a company capable of landing city and state contracts for networking couldn't be little. He estimated the worth of the young man was close to hundred and twenty million and appreciated the fact that he wasn't boasting about how rich he was. He said, "Impressive. I hope you're an honest man. That's a lot of responsibility." "You bet. I know people's lives could depend on my networks being up. You can't cut corners on something so important. I mean, imagine someone having an accident in the middle of the desert and no one able to contact the authorities because the network is down. The thought gives me nightmares," said Chuck as his body shook because of a shiver that ran down his spine. "Yes, we tend to rely upon the infrastructure of this country without giving it much thought," commented Kelly even as she glanced over at Ling with a meaningful look. Ling was about to ask a question when a shout rang out through the restaurant, "Ed, where are you?" Smiling upon identifying the speaker based on her voice, Ed shouted, "Rosa, we're back here." Rosa charged into the dining room and made a beeline for the table. Breathless, Rosa asked, "Are you guys alright?" Chuckling at her flushed face and flustered expression, Ed answered, "Yes, we're fine." "Thank you for stopping that robbery." "Chuck here deserves a lot of the credit for that, Rosa," explained Ed while gesturing to the young man seated next to him. Taking a seat, Rosa listened as Ed described what had happened. While Ed talked, Kelly gestured to Ling by pointing to one of the fingers on her left hand. Ling followed through on the implied instruction and then winked back at Kelly with a cat ate the canary grin. The woman held a whispered conversation while Ed, Chuck, and Rosa talked about the attempted robbery. The conversation at the table was interrupted when the senior police officer came over to the table and, after waiting for a pause in the discussion, announced, "Our investigation is finished. I need contact information so that we can forward it to the DA." Simultaneously, Ed and Chuck reached for their cards. Ed handed over a family card and Chuck handed over one of his business cards. While they were doing that, the cashier came over to talk to Rosa. The cop glanced at the cards and nodded his head. In a respectful tone of voice, he said, "Thank you." As they left, Chuck commented, "You know, sometimes when people find that you have a bit of money they start treating you differently from others. When that other police officer found out who I was, he started saying 'yes sir' and 'no sir.' It bothers me that people treat others based on how much money a person is worth." Trying hard not to laugh, Kelly said, "I've observed the same thing." Glancing at his watch, Chuck stood and said, "I better be going. I'll tell the cashier to put your bill on mine. It's been a pleasure ..." Rosa interrupted, "You don't have to worry about ever paying for a meal at a Maria's Cantina again." "What do you mean?" asked Chuck confused by her statement. "I'll get you a lifetime card for free meals," said Rosa unaware of the wealth of the man who had stopped the robbery. "She's one of the owners of this chain," said Ed with a smile. "Oh, I didn't realize that. I don't really need that. I'll let you buy my lunch today, but that's all," said Chuck turning down the offer with a grin. He pointed to Ling and said, "If anyone deserves such a card, it is Ling. She saved my life." Everyone at the table laughed at the suggestion. Rosa answered, "I've been trying to give them free meals for years without success." It was well known that most Druids were not wealthy individuals. The press often made a point of that when they covered a story involving a Druid, so Chuck was rather surprised to learn that these Druids turned down the chance to save a little money. Rather than pursue the issue, he said, "Well, I'll let you folks be on your way. I'm sure that you have something far more important to do than talk with me." With a nudge from Ling, Kelly handed him a family card as she said, "I'd like to invite you for dinner Friday evening. I'm sure that our place is out of your way, so be prepared to spend the night." Chuck glanced down at the card and then took a double take. Pursing his lips, he asked, "Carter Clan? As in John Carter?" When everyone else smiled, Rosa answered, "Yes." "Oh," Chuck said finding it hard to believe that he had been talking to some of the richest people in the country. He decided that he had been very lucky this afternoon to find someone who would make a very valuable business partner. After a moment of thought, he said, "Sure, I'll come by Friday." "Great," said Ling with a large smile. Later that evening, Ed and Ling discussed her use of deadly force in the restaurant. Ed said, "One of our rules is to protect the weak from the strong. That doesn't give you permission to kill the strong." "He was armed and dangerous," countered Ling. "You could have disarmed him." This was not the first time that they had this discussion. Ling looked around the room for half a minute before she said, "It isn't a game when you go up against someone better armed than you. It is a matter of life and death. I was not trained to allow another to have the chance to kill me because I wasn't willing to do what was necessary to end it as quickly as possible." "You could have disarmed him without increasing your risk much," answered Ed. "I would willingly die to protect you, but I won't risk one hair of my head to protect someone who wants to hurt you," Ling answered. She crossed her arms and turned away, thereby putting an end to the discussion. She was going to protect the family regardless of the consequences to herself. Looking at Ling, Ed knew that he would never convince her to show restraint against an armed attacker. He knew it wasn't fair to ask her to do so. She was a warrior and when she fought, she treated it as a very serious matter. One of the few things he remembered his father telling him was that when someone pointed a gun at you, you had better say your prayers because they held your life in their hands and they never had your best interests at heart. He sighed and dropped the matter. Friday afternoon found Ed in his study putting the finishing touches on the first draft of his book. Sitting back, he looked at the computer monitor with a smile, pleased with how much material he had managed to cover. He waited for the cursor to change from the hourglass to a pointer to indicate that the files were saved. It seemed to take forever, but finally it was done. Happy, he told the monitor, "I'm glad that's all done." The computer monitor didn't reply. Ed grabbed the mouse and shut down his machine. Just before the computer turned off, he glanced at the clock and saw the time. There wasn't enough time for him to sneak in a quick swim before their guest arrived for dinner. He stood and wiped his face in an effort to restore his focus, but he still felt drained from his afternoon of work. He looked back at the clock on his desk deciding that there was enough time for a quick shower. He went downstairs to the bedroom of his apartment and took off his robe. Showering didn't take long, but dressing did since he wondered what were the appropriate clothes to wear. Kelly and Ling had set up this dinner for reasons that weren't clear to him and they had actually giggled while discussing it that morning. He decided to keep it simple and selected jeans, work shirt, and boots. Walking into the atrium of the house, Ed looked around at his surroundings. The plants through the center of the room lent a nice earthy smell to the house. The waterfall in the center of the garden made a soothing sound that was augmented with the sounds of frogs calling out to each other. Sighing in satisfaction, Ed loved everything about his house and didn't want to ever leave it for an extended period of time ever again. Kelly came out of her apartment and walked over to join him. She was wearing a very nice pale blue dress that came to just above her knee. It was tight around her waist, but its' best feature was the neckline that showed her cleavage. Looking over her with a lover's eye, Ed said, "Um, you look good enough to eat." "I'd hate to spoil your appetite for dinner," Kelly teased, "maybe I should change out of these clothes and into something frumpy." "No, that's okay. I'll have you for desert," replied Ed attempting a leer. Putting an arm around her, he asked, "So what's up with dinner tonight?" Leroy came out of his room wearing a pair of blue dress pants and a light blue shirt. He hadn't changed his clothes after returning from the lab. Seeing Ed and Kelly, he went over and hugged them both. Smiling, he said, "I hear that we are having a special guest tonight." "Just the guy who saved Ed's life the other day," replied Kelly. "Yeah, he's real nice guy. Seems to have a good character and is pretty smart," said Ed. "Is he good looking?" asked Linda as she came up from behind them. Ed turned to look at her. Even though she was six months pregnant, Ed thought she looked sexier than ever. Releasing Kelly, he went over to Linda and embraced her. Kissing her gently, he asked, "How's the mother-to-be feeling?" "Fat," she answered with a wink at Kelly. She'd answered that question the same way ever since she had confirmed that she was pregnant. This pregnancy was far different from her first. There hadn't been any morning sickness; she'd had lots of energy and no cramps. "Want me to rub some of that cream onto your tummy?" asked Ed wanting to do something special for her. He ran a hand over her stomach trying to feel the life growing inside. "Later. Ling just finished creaming my belly," answered Linda with a smile. Ling had also spent about thirty minutes between her legs giving her a lot of pleasure. Leroy grinned and said, "Sounds obscene." "Oh, it is -- especially if done correctly," Linda retorted with an equally large grin. The quiet time was interrupted when Betsy came running down the atrium and, in an excited voice, asked, "Are we really having company tonight for dinner?" "Yes," answered Ed. Cathy came walking towards them and said, "A Mr. Chuck Chambers has arrived. I put him in the formal living room." Betsy took off for the living room to meet their guest. Shaking her head at the energy expended by the little girl, Kelly said, "If she doesn't scare him off, no one will." "Scare him off?" asked Ed wondering why Betsy would scare a dinner guest off. He stopped to consider what Kelly might have meant. After a rather boring and uneventful dinner, Ed and Leroy sat back in their chairs on the roof of the house to watch the sunset. A small table between their chairs was set with a pitcher of iced tea and glasses. Looking over at their guest, Leroy asked, "Would you care for some iced tea?" Chuck shifted nervously, wondering why the two men had invited him to the roof. It was hot and he was sweating in his suit coat. The idea of a cold drink appealed to him and he replied, "Sure." While Leroy poured three glasses of iced tea, Ed repeated his suggestion a second time since arriving on the roof. "You might want to get comfortable and take off that suit coat." "Oh, thanks," replied Chuck. He wrestled the coat off, finding that the sudden exposure of his sweat-soaked shirt to the dry desert air brought a chill. For a moment, he looked around for a place to put the coat and finally decided to drape it over the back of his chair. Leroy handed out the glasses of iced tea, keeping one for him. Sighing, he said, "It looks like we're going to have a glorious sunset tonight." "It sure does," agreed Ed with a satisfied smile. "So what are we doing up here?" asked Chuck after several minutes of silence had passed. He was ready to get down to business and felt that these long periods of silence were some sort of negotiating tactic. He just didn't know what he was negotiating. Puzzled by the question, Ed looked at Chuck wondering what he thought they were doing up on the roof if it wasn't to watch the sunset. This was supposed to be a social visit. He was saved from asking when Leroy grinned and answered, "What does it look like? We're watching the sunset." "You came up here to watch the sunset?" asked Chuck surprised by the answer. "We do this every night," said Ed. "Oh." Silence descended upon the group as the sun lowered in sky. Reds, oranges, greens, and yellows spread across the horizon. The sight took Ed's breath away despite the number of times he had watched sunsets from that chair. Leroy was just as appreciative of the view. Chuck fidgeted in his chair and watched the other two men. Noticing the apparent discomfort of their guest, Ed said, "I take it you don't watch sunsets very often." "No," replied Chuck with a negligent shrug of his shoulders. He was too busy building his business to sit around and stare off into the sky. He was still waiting for the business proposition that he was sure was the real reason for the invitation to the roof. "Pity," said Ed. "I can think of no reason not to watch one of the greatest shows on earth when ever possible." "I've been busy building up my business," countered Chuck hoping to steer the direction of the conversation. Shaking his head, Leroy said, "What a horrible price to pay for success." "Huh?" Nodding his head in agreement, Ed added, "I agree." Chuck sat back in his chair and stared at the two men. Ed and Leroy turned their attention back to the skyline and watched as the colors of the sky deepened. After a couple of minutes, Ed asked, "Did you play football in high school?" "No. I was a nerd and spent most of high school working on my computer. I was already working on my business at that time," Chuck answered hoping to steer the conversation towards business. The answer surprised Ed since he had originally pegged Chuck as a former high school football player. He commented, "You're built like you played football." "I was a skinny kid in school. It wasn't until college that I gained a bit a weight although it was basically fat. I guess you've heard of the Freshman fifteen. Well, I put on about double that. Once I got a little success in my business, I started working out," said Chuck. Eyes focused on the horizon, but not seeing anything, Chuck thought about the reason he had started working out and wearing suits. Four years before, one of his customers had told him that he was too nerdy for the management of the company to trust. The man had further explained that Chuck needed to change his image in order for his business to grow. Chuck had listened to the advice after looking around at the people who had succeeded in the high tech business. It was his hope that he had achieved the look, but not the snake-oil salesman tone. Leroy looked over at Chuck and said, "Looks like your workouts have been successful." "Thanks. I owe it all to my personal trainer," replied Chuck as he turned to look at his companions on the roof. He wished they would get down to business and let him know why they wanted him on the roof. As the colors of the sunset faded to black, Ed turned and examined Chuck with a frown. He realized that the man didn't know how to take a moment to appreciate the natural beauty around him. He asserted, "You don't believe that we invited you up here to watch the sunset." Much to Ed's disappointment, Ed heard the lie when Chuck answered, "No, I'm sure that's why you invited me up here."